Have you ever questioned a lawyer's bill and won?

Yes!! You have every right to challenge your lawyer, and I’m horrified to hear that he/she would provide a scathing response. Let’s hope you don’t get a bill for that ;-) You’ll obviously have to weigh the value derived from this work that you’re questioning. The attorney’s position will be that great value was delivered.

I’ve been on both sides of this issue (amending bills based on client requests and requesting amendments when I’m the client). In most cases, the attorney will have done a poor job of managing expectations. Challenge this to the degree you feel comfortable, and I’m hopeful you have a swift, fair outcome.

It wasn’t really scathing – mainly defensive but also a little aggrieved. She kind of has me by the short and curlies but at least I questioned her. A friend of mine says that lawyers are in the only profession where they make a mistake, you correct the mistake and then you get a bill for their time!

Please contact someone else in the firm, if there is one. My nephew, who majored in finance, was hired as an intern at a law office. In tracking their billing records, one lawyer’s submitted reports raised a red flag. The nephew asked her about it, and she basically told him that he was just an intern and not to worry about it. He went to one of the other lawyers. It turns out that she was padding her time on cases. The lawyer in question was fired. The nephew got a full-time job.

Moral of the story: Just like in most fields where employees are skilled in areas that aren’t general knowledge, it’s worth asking about costs and billing up front.

I had a real estate lawyer work for me when I was looking to buy a home. He told me about the hours put in by an intern and then charged me as if he had put in the hours. I made up a number which I thought was reasonable and took the average with what he wanted and told him that was all I was willing to pay. He decided it was not worth fighting over.

Threaten to file a complaint with the Bar. That usually gets them.

Is your soon-to-be-ex on the line for your lawyer fees? Maybe your lawyer thought you were on the same page, sticking it to them?

As to lawyer fees, I made an appointment with a lawyer regarding my father’s estate. I waited 15–20 minutes past the appointed time, whereupon I was summoned to be told that there was nothing productive he could do for me – it was on the up-and-up and all he could do was cause trouble if I wanted to pay him to do so. I told him that was all I wanted to know an left. A couple weeks later, I received a bill for $60. Two minutes at $30 a minute. I laughed, threw it in the trash, and never heard another word from him.

I would probably respond to your lawyer in a way that let’s them know, ‘Hey, I’ve basically entrusted my life to you, and don’t ‘get’ how you could be defensive about me asking you questions? Can I be active and engaged in the case, or not?’

You have more right to be aggrieved than your lawyer, as you’re paying the bills.

@ibstubro The divorce is final; this is some loose ends that are being tied up. In any case, I’ve handled it the way I plan to, just was curious about other experiences.

I thought the divorce was final, @janbb, but it threw me off that you were still paying bills. Did the ex have to pay your lawyer?

@ibstubro No – we each paid our own lawyers.

During my first divorce my lawyer charged me for unnecessary letters printed in large print and charged for by the page. What angered me was that the lawyer knew my straightened financial circumstances at the time. I changed lawyers and took my case to the Law Society of Scotland and was awarded a refund.

Nice, @flutherother.

@Dutchess_III I was really pissed off about it; tradesmen are clear about costs why should lawyers be different? I had enough to worry about at the time believe me. My second lawyer was much more upfront about charges and far more efficient.